A new national poll released today from The Gallup Organization found that only one in four (Americans) think private citizens should be allowed to pack concealed weapons. The poll revealed that Americans in overwhelming numbers reject the gun lobby's agenda to permit more hidden, loaded handguns to be carried on the streets.And so on and so forth. I wonder exactly how "national" this "poll" really was. No way am I going to believe that "45%" quote without some rock-hard evidence shoved in my face. You may note at the very bottom of this report that the source was Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort. Among many other things, they are in favor of preserving the gun ban in Washington, D.C. Their tagline is, "Wisconsinites, working together, can truly create a state of peace." Just as peaceful as Washington, D.C., apparently.
The Gallup poll also found that 'nearly two in three Americans say they would feel less safe if they were in a public place and knew that concealed firearms were allowed.' Even 45 percent of gun owners said they would feel less safe, if concealed firearms were in a place they were at.
From their
Wisconsinites know that it makes sense to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons. We haven't gone down the path traveled by other states like Texas, Florida and Louisiana. Those and many other states that allow concealed weapons have much higher firearms death rates than Wisconsin does. Allowing the carrying of concealed guns is a dangerous idea. And it's dead wrong for Wisconsin.Any correlation between death rates and those who carry concealed? I mean, are these higher death rates occuring because the people who are carrying concealed are commiting indiscriminate murder?
I didn't think so. I would note that Wisconsin is seriously lacking in any really large cities, which are notorious for providing us with murder statistics. Milwaukee is #1 at only 596,000 people, and the entire state only has about 5 1/2 million.
UPDATE: Sorry, but I just had to throw some numbers together like all the good little statisticians do. I'm not a statistician by any means, and these numbers may be full of it, but here they are. The years don't match because the last census was in 2000 and the statistics I found were from 2001, but it should still be pretty close.
The population of Texas in 2000 was 20,851,820. In 2001, there were 2,350 persons killed by a firearm (that includes homicide, suicide, accidental, and undetermined) in Texas. That means that in 2000, about 0.011% of the population of Texas died through the use of firearms. (11 out of 100,000)
The population of Florida in 2000 was 15,982,378. In 2001, there were 1,816 persons killed by a firearm (that includes homicide, suicide, accidental, and undetermined) in Florida. That means that in 2000, about 0.011% of the population of Florida died through the use of firearms. (11 out of 100,000)
The population of Louisiana in 2000 was 4,468,976. In 2001, there were 781 persons killed by a firearm (that includes homicide, suicide, accidental, and undetermined) in Louisiana. That means that in 2000, about 0.017% of the population of Louisiana died through the use of firearms. (17 out of 100,000)
The population of Wisconsin in 2000 was 5,363,675. In 2001, there were 475 persons killed by a firearm (that includes homicide, suicide, accidental, and undetermined) in Wisconsin. That means that in 2000, about 0.009% of the population of Wisconsin died through the use of firearms. (9 out of 100,000)
If I've crunched these numbers correctly, it looks like Louisiana has the biggest problem, but there is very little difference between Texas, Florida, and Wisconsin. Please note that I'm not talking about the worth of human life here, I'm talking raw numbers. I'm using these three states because that is what they were comparing themselves to. If I've done these numbers wrong, please feel free to tell me I screwed up.
Population data from U.S. Census Bureau. Firearms death statistics from Physicians for Social Responsibilty.
The problem with those statistics is that they assume all firearms deaths are victims. They include gang violence and criminal on criminal murder. They also include self defense shootings and shootings committed by the Police. I hate to sound insensitive, but a policeman shooting a criminal and a criminal shooting a grandmother shouldn't even be in the same category.
ReplyDeleteAnd which is the better scenario: 3000 innocent people killed by airplane, or 19 terrorist hijackers killed by firearm? The former results in 0 firearms deaths, the latter results in 19.
Well, that's not insensitive, that's just the truth.
ReplyDeleteMy point in posting all those numbers is that I was turning their own claims against them. At least that's what I was trying to do.
To further clarify my last comment, I agree with all your points. When I calculated my own statistics, I was using numbers they would agree with to show that their own version of "logic" wasn't going to hold up. That's why I used "all" (supposedly) firearms deaths.
ReplyDeleteI don't think justified deaths should be included either. So what if one gang punk kills another gang punk? Good riddance. And if a law-abiding citizen kills a criminal, good. That's how it should be. Much better than the other way around.